BC-APFN-Business News Preview

May. 14, 2018

Among the stories Monday from The Associated Press:

TOP STORIES:

UNITED STATES CHINA-ZTE — In a surprising overture to China, President Donald Trump says he would help a Chinese telecommunications company get "back into business," saying too many jobs in China are at stake after the U.S. government cut off access to its American suppliers. SENT: 1,080 words, photo.

With:

— CHINA-US-ZTE — President Donald Trump injected fresh uncertainty into planned trade talks between U.S. and Chinese officials this week with his weekend social media musings that hinted at possibly easing up on sanctions for China's ZTE. Here's a closer, chunky-text look at the issues. By Kelvin Chan. SENT: 610 words, photos.

— CHINA-US-TRADE — China says it is sending an envoy to the United States this week for talks aimed at cooling a trade dispute that threatens to upend markets from soy beans to steel, and welcomed comments by President Donald Trump hinting at a possible easing of sanctions on embattled Chinese telecoms firm ZTE. SENT: 450 words.

Also:

TRADE-US-CHINA CONFLICT — President Donald Trump's surprise bid to help the Chinese telecom giant ZTE "get back in business" shows how much the world's two largest economies depend on each other and the pressure they face to resolve their multi-pronged trade conflict. Trump's overture comes just as U.S. manufacturers prepare to argue against his proposed tariffs on Chinese imports and U.S. exporters raise fears about retaliatory tariffs from China. All that is happening while the U.S., Canada and Mexico are running out of time to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement this year, with a Thursday deadline looming. By Paul Wiseman. UPCOMING.

ONLINE POLITICAL ADVERTISING — Political advertising has become a big headache for companies like Facebook and Google in light of Russian meddling, privacy issues and an increasingly polarized political climate. Why not ban political ads completely? For one thing, companies would be giving up a lot of revenue. But even if they wanted to, there's no easy way to tell whether an ad is political or not. By Mae Anderson. UPCOMING: 600 words by 2 p.m., photos.

EUROPE-ELECTRIC HIGHWAYS — Some of Europe's biggest automakers are out to remove the anxiety from the electric car consumer experience by building a highway network of fast charging stations. By David McHugh. SENT: 990 words, photos.

SEARS-SALE — Sears Holdings Corp. says a special committee of its board is starting a formal process to explore the sale of its Kenmore brand and related assets. By Anne D'Innocenzio. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: Will be updated.

VENEZUELA-CONOCOPHILLIPS — A court on the Dutch island of Curacao has authorized the local subsidiary of U.S. oil giant ConocoPhillips to seize $636 million worth of assets held on the island by Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA. SENT: 340 words, photo.

JAPAN-SONY-PEANUTS — Japanese electronics maker Sony Corp.'s music unit is buying a stake in Peanuts Holdings, the company behind Snoopy and Charlie Brown. By Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 310 words, photos.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES-EMERGENCY LANDING — Some passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight from Denver suffered minor injuries when the plane appeared to suddenly lose cabin pressure as it neared Dallas. SENT: 120 words.

MARIJUANA TO HEMP-CBD BOOM — A glut of pot and low prices for it in Oregon are prompting some growers to switch to hemp to cash in on soaring interest in the CBD extract from it that is a health craze. By Gillian Flaccus. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-READYJET — A former cleaner with a Logan International Airport subcontractor that cleans airliners, ReadyJet, is alleging on-the-job sexual harassment in a complaint filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. SENT: 150 words. UPCOMING: Will be updated.

ELIMINATING TRANS FATS — The World Health Organization has released a plan to help countries wipe out trans fats from the global food supply in the next five years. By Mike Stobbe. SENT: 780 words, photos.

TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA:

FACEBOOK-PRIVACY SCANDAL — Facebook is suspending about 200 apps that it believes may have misused data. SENT: 130 words, photos.

GERMANY-EMAIL ENCRYPTION — Germany's cybersecurity agency says German and Belgian researchers have found a way to outwit two widely used forms of email encryption. SENT: 130 words.

EARNINGS:

EARNS-NISSAN— Nissan Motor Co.'s profit fell 32 percent in the last quarter from a year earlier as a strong yen, rising raw materials costs and research expenses bit into earnings, the Japanese automaker reported. By Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 360 words, photo.

INTERNATIONAL:

TAIWAN-HOMEBUILT WEAPNONRY — Taiwan is seeking to build-up its domestic defense industry in the face of China's warnings and the reluctance of foreign arms suppliers to provide it with planes, ships, submarines and other hardware to defend its 23 million people. By Ralph Jennings. SENT: 930 words, photos.

GREECE-BAILOUT — Bailout inspectors have returned to Athens as Greece races to comply with the final terms of its rescue program, which ends in August. SENT: 130 words, photos.

FRANCE-STRIKES — French train traffic is widely disrupted as rail workers prepare to hold a union vote on the government's plan to revamp the national railway company SNCF. SENT: 130 words, photos.

CROATIA-RESIGNATION — Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalic has resigned after private email exchanges were published showing an alleged conflict of interest during the restructuring of the country's largest private company. SENT: 410 words.